Whilst the Penny Black rightfully remains the world's most famous stamp, the Twopenny Blue was issued just two days later on May 8th 1840 and is often overlooked. Yet this is a stamp with more than twice the catalogue value of the Penny Black. Why? Probably because so few exist.
The Twopenny Blue stamp was used to cover postage on packages weighing over half an ounce. Because sending any letter by post (let alone a small parcel) was alien to most people at the time, the stamp was very rarely used, and therefore issued in much smaller quantities than the Penny Black.
When a Twopenny Blue is discovered, knowledgeable collectors make a quick yet important check to discover the age of the stamp. The reason being that although the stamp was issued for a number of years, the first edition from 1840 is by far the most scarce and valuable - yet it is easily identifiable.
The test is very simple. All you look for is a clear white line below the inscription 'POSTAGE' and above the words 'TWO PENCE' - a design amendment introduced early on 1841 - less than a year after the 1840 version was produced.
The absence of the white lines has caught the eye of many a collector. For this signifies they are looking at the elusive and highly sought after 1840 Twopenny Blue - a stamp that is now so much in demand that catalogue values have risen nearly 70% in just 10 years!
It's fair to say that the Twopenny Blue is probably ten times as scarce as the Penny Black. However, we have worked hard with suppliers to locate a small quantity of these stamps. Now you have the opportunity to own one of these amazing and historic stamps.